Dr. Jonathan AC Brown - What is Salafism?

Dr. Jonathan A.C. Brown talks about Salafism, and the beliefs and practices of Salafists. He describes why they are often misperceived by those in the West to be Islamic terrorists.
Video courtesy of the British Council

Dr. Jonathan AC Brown is currently the Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He received his BA in History from Georgetown University in 2000 and his PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2006. Dr. Brown has studied and conducted research in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, India and Iran. His book publications include The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (Brill, 2007), Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (Oneworld, 2009), Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011) and Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy (Oneworld, 2014). He has published numerous articles. He is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islamic Law.

[abdalaliydesert]

Good explanation. But it must be noted that Osama Bin Laden and groups like Al- Qaedah are not considered salafis rather Khawarijs.

[oceanflyer]

Salafi isn't always political quetist. I think Prof Brown was referring to the salafi group in Saudi. But Salafism has expanded around the world and many of them are politically active.

[multanprarie]

this answer would mislead more than clarify. He forgot to say that salafism ain't homogeneous but divided itself into sects, and that all sects of salafism form a minority unlike protestantism, which now covers half of christians.

[zainiabdullah]

Manhaj Salaf : The methodology of understanding Islam and the practices of the Prophet sallaahu alaihi wassalaam and his eminent companions through the authentic traditions.

[Abu_Abdullah]

Wow
Do not link the manhaj of the Salaf with the khawarij
They have nothing to do with the haqq

[holdshifttrun]

Most terrorists do not come primarily from the salafi ideology. If you look into the realm of terrorism, you will find so many people coming from different sects. I mean in Pakistan you have Deobandi terrorists, barelvi terrorists, naqshbandi terrorists and so on. If you look to Afghanistan, majority of the fighters came from sufi backgrounds. Some of them split into terrorist organizations. Claiming to be a salafi and then supporting extreme ideologies and supporting unjust acts of violence is an oxymoron. The whole idea of "salafism" as you said is to stick to the traditions and scripture as much as possible. So it would not make sense that one who does so would engage in such activity.

[holdshifttrun]

Terroris is not bred from salafism. Terrorism and extremism comes from lack of understanding and critical thinking. Terrorists usually tend to see things in a very simplistic fashion, but Islam does not work that way.

[beyondhopehumanity]

Subhan Allah I hate the way people have divided Islam into sects.. I hate it how some people wants to follow this sect and that sect instead of only clinging onto the Qur'an and sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).. I have no idea what salafism is.. but I only have the idea of what Islam is.. It's to obey Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (SAW).. Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was known to be a living Qur'an.. following his teachings means implementing Qur'anic verses into our lives.. May Allah make us of those whom He loves, guides and has mercy on.. May Allah save us from every form of disbelief, innovations and shirk.. Ameen Ya Rabbil Alameen...

[briananthony]

This explanation ignores the very clear historical roots of Salafism and the violence that it promoted against other Islams from its earliest days. The continued attacks of the Saudi state, backed quite vociferously by Salafi ulema in the Kingdom, against Shia and other minority populations, as well as the ongoing demolition of Muslim heritage are a testament to this tradition of violence. Salafism is inherently violent and historically political, with all due respect to Dr. Brown's funding sources.

[noermuhammadfadhilah]

Salaf is the best generation : sahaba, tabi'in, and at tabiut tabi'in. Al Qur'an say in At-taubah :100. You can read At Taubah. Salafi following Prophet Muhammad
فا نه نعم السلف انا لك، (HR. MUSLIM No. 2450(98)

[aveshkolad]

being a salafi after following Sufism....explanation he gave was true and concise....but in the end he could have distinguish between salafi and kharji ( black and white)

[seesawme]

assalam alaikum brother,
do you know about the khawarij

[ThePinerosan]

When u agreed on salafism i think u still live in "misquoting muhammad". No harsh Islam. Sufi is the best interpretation of Prophet Muhammad life of joy, sad, peaceful, wisdom and everything that flourish islamic golden age.. Islam is not about takfir people and wasting time with debate..like all those wahabis did

[-Ahmed]

With respect to the Prof, descriptions like this do a service to the Salafi movement, at least in the eyes of those wishing to become more practiscing.

[cudacularry]

without Takfir on other Muslim brothers, they're the very good way to learned Hadith. They only followed the Sahih and Hassan Hadith only but in reality everybody knows the limited of human being in every aspect of life.

[TravelingPhilosopher]

Sufism also has many different variables & types so it might be difficult to generalize or categorize it per say. Also Salafism has many different forms

[norshapida]

totallay wrong doc. Sufi is about ihsan, is totally not about visiting grave. main book of sufi is ihya' ulumuddin, bidayatul hidayah, al hikam, read all this 3 books 3 times, you will not found any visiting grave. before jump to conclusion read it until you understand the core of sufi

[taposherabeya]

Beautifully explained. Everything is on point.

[zetjyjt]

This person is simply describing a practicing Muslim who is adhering to the path of the companions of the prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam and comparing them to dogs of the hellfire. Instead of speaking of those who follow the Salaf in a good way as Allah did in the Qur’an, he describes them as if they are some kind of a wild animal which has been indoctrinated by Saudi Arabian dogma yet he completely forgets to point out that the whole foundation for the Salafi movement is the book of Allah and the Sunnah. How dare he say Osama bin Laden and Salafism in the same sentence.

Who is the one who said ‘Pardon the beard and trim the mustache’ to ‘be different from the mushrikeen’? Who said ‘glad tidings be to the strangers’? Who said ‘The best of mankind is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them’?

This kind of speech is what discourages muslims from submitting to the commandments of the Most High. This is not an academic analysis, rather this is a western object of propaganda which has taken the non-muslims as his ally. Stay away from this man and warn against him. I see him as an enemy who mixes the truth with falsehood.

[eye.in.thesky]

"Shaikh" "Scholar" Jonathan Brown in this clip just gave an ignorant's definition of Salafi-ism. That is not at all what Salafi-ism is.

Before I dive into defining Salafi-ism, let me point to a topic in Constitutional Law of America, namely "Original Intent". Original Intent in Constitutional Law deals with the exactly that, the original intent of the provisions and amendments in American Constitution. What did the authors of Constitution and Amendments intend to address.

Salafi-ism is exactly that, just a 1200 years before American Law. It is a methodology based on what Prophet Muhammed (saws) said in his Hadith:

‘Those before you were divided into seventy two sects. This Ummah will break into seventy three. Seventy two will be in the fire, and one will be in Jannah. That’s the one that follows the Path of my Sahabah and my way.’ (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith: 4587)

So, Salafi-ism seeks to understand and practice Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and understood by Sahabah. In short what this means is conducting your life and affairs according to the Original Intent of Islam and teachings of Prophet Muhammed (saws). And not adding or modifying Islam according to our own whims and deviations and still thinking that you are practicing Islam.